Our Environment

Where we are - and what is around us

The picturesque cobbled village of Clovelly is a short distance away on the North Devon coast

Conveniently close to the M5 Exeter and A30 highways, North Devon and Cornwall, we are situated 18 miles from Bideford and Okehampton, 12 miles from Bude on the Cornish coast, 13 miles from Launceston and 5 miles from Holsworthy. The airports of Bristol, Exeter and Newquay link with flights from London, offer car hire facilities and are within easy driving distance. We are about 5 miles from the market town of Holsworthy.

South Wonford is a small rural hamlet of four or five farms surrounded by peaceful countryside in the heart of West Devon. The beautiful North Devon coastline with its rugged cliffs and sandy beaches, the wide open spaces of Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor, Exmoor, the ancient port of Bideford and the fishing villages of Clovelly, Padstow and Port Isaac famed for filming the ‘Doc Martin‘ TV series are well worth visiting.

Other attractions are the RHS gardens at Rosemoor, Lanhydrock House, the Tamar Lakes and the Eden Project, to name a few. There is fine coastal walking and rambling, most of the local Cornish beaches being dog-friendly. For cyclists and walkers the Tarka Trail is within easy reach, there are local wooded areas open to the public for birdwatching and a nearby Farm Shop sells local food and produce.

views over the fields

An evening view from the Farmhouse

A rainbow over the fields after a rain shower

A sprinkling of snow in November

We have restored the hedges and planted trees around the meadows leaving a wide strip of rough ground at the edges to provide a tranquil haven for visiting birds and wildlife. This has attracted tawny and barn owls, a hare, deer, badgers and foxes, snipe and buzzards, as well as colourful pheasants and little groups of partridge. some of the species of trees we have planted are Alder, Willow, Red Oaks, Hazel and Spindle which we are now harvesting and using for our woodcarving teaching. Our hens roam freely and we can often supply our visitors with our free-range eggs.

Some Woodcarvings made from our Home-grown Timber

This Owl project carved from some of our homegrown Alder wood was featured in the 'Woodcarving' magazine recently

Broody Hen carved from our home-grown Alder wood, finished with wax polish which brings out the lovely amber colour of the timber

Bright orange when newly felled some of these alder logs were used to make the Owl and the Broody Hen woodcarvings shown above

A Carving Holiday in Devon

If you’d like a holiday or a short break away from the stresses and strains of contemporary life, here in unspoilt Devon we have the answer – a few days visiting the lovely attractions of Devon and Cornwall, combining this with some woodcarving tuition while you are here. Or you may prefer just to relax quietly in a tranquil setting, perhaps?

Please contact Zoe for more details and availability

We can usually offer accommodation for one or two persons in our Farmhouse and if you wish, we can arrange some woodcarving tuition to take place for as many days as you like during your stay, so that you can have some time to relax or go out and about discovering beautiful Devon and Cornwall, as well as doing some woodcarving.